What a day it was yesterday, fighting for my life in a tournament against some of the most vicious, blood-thirsty, cunning Battle Mages from the high mountains of Cloudgard to the hellish depths of Utopin...

Round after round of vicious combat... all for the enjoyment of the crowd. The life of a Gladiator... the life of a Battle Mage. There are no chains around my feet, yet I know I am not free.

That fourth round, what a combatant they are, @bamrepa ... an absolute monster. When the lots were drawn for that fourth round and our names were paired for combat, I would be lying if I didn't say I was prepared for death... Perhaps even welcomed it, I knew Bamrepa would give me a swift and painless death. What more could a gladiator ask for?...

As the reality of the situation began to sink in and I found an inner sense of calm from my pipeweed (thank The Creator for Hobbits) I began the preparation of my strategy. The Master of the Tournament ( @sclipper ) had placed a limiting curse on both of our Mana prior to the match, as such I was left with a mere 19 of my normally deep Mana pool and on top of that I was stripped of the ability to summon my most powerful legendary monsters... they did leave me the ability to bring forth legendary summoners however...

Having heard of Bam the Mighty (and their explosive nature) I had a feeling as though I would be going face to face with none other than the "Fiery and Terrible One" himself, The Thunderable Yodin Zaku! Having this feeling in my bones I knew I would have to Halve The Fiery One's power by summoning him as well.

I knew there were risks... but my life was on the line, now was no time to play it safe.

As I pulled a few draws from my pipe the strategy finally came to me.

I would lead with Chicken as bait, she doesn't mind... or at least I don't think so, it's so damned hard to tell, she's always so furious.

Cerberus loves chasing that poor girl so naturally he would follow (he's a most good boy and my trusty companion always).

Next, I had a feeling that Slime (Creeping Ooze) would be handy, as my Mana was limited and he comes to my calling easily.

Fourth I would go with the scorching Fire Beetle, their molten-ranged attacks were something I knew would be needed in the Arena.

For the anchor I took a risk... I was going to attempt to summon and control a Fire Demon on top of maintaining Zaku. Normally doing such a thing would be a much easier feat but with this abominable curse mark that was placed on me I was going to be pushing to the very limits of my endurance and control.

May The Creator watch over Bamrepa and I both as we trade blood for applause, life for pleasure.

As we stepped out on to the Arena Summoning Grounds to the roar of the crowd, it was all I could do to maintain my composure. Having won the right, Bamrepa summoned forth his team first and what an applause that squadron brought when the smoke cleared... of course The Fiery One always does draw forth the applause, whether this is from respect, fear or both, it is hard to tell... I would guess both.

Fighting alongside The Fiery One, Bam had also brought forth (in this order) a fierce and swift Serpentine Soldier, a sneaky Kobold Miner, a Chicken perhaps as Furious as my own (if that's even possible, seriously, she is F U R I O U S), a Fire Beetle equally as cindery and molten as my own and for the anchor, a rarity from across the lands, a Halfling Alchemist! I have dealt with the Halflings myself from time to time and they are ingenious in their ways.

As the roar of the crowd died down from Bamrepa's Summoning, I prepared myself to draw half of Yodin's power over to my control. No easy task, Bamrepa has excellent summoning control, and I knew I was going to have to potentially go deeper into my reserves than I may have ever gone before.

As I began my incantation the crowd and Bamrepa were all audibly shocked to see Yodin scream in pain, being summoned in two places at once, or being "Halved" as it is called, is never a fun experience, or a painless one.

As the incantation continued, Yodin began shrinking in size and stature and began reappearing on my side of the Arena. Normally standing at a domineering twelve feet tall and weighing in at over 100 chickens, Yodin had shrank in size to be even eye and eye with myself... and the rage and hatred I witnessed in those fiery orbs nearly made my lips falter during the final moments of the incantation, the most crucial for maintaining control.

As The Creator would have it I was able to finish successfully and reign Yodin in, as much as one CAN reign in a twelve foot tall, Efreet-Bulludae demon hybrid, that is...

As he shook off the pain from being Halved, the version of Yodin nearest me stalked over let me know just how little he appreciated such an experience by whispering in my ear,

"You better hope you win this fight boy, for if the tides don't go your way and you begin to lose your grip over me... Well, I don't really need to go into further details, do I?",

An exceedingly slow nod was the only reply I could manage while maintaining composure.

As I finished my summoning by bringing forth my Chicken, Cerberus, Slime, and Fire Beetle, I took a deep breath and prepared for my final move: Fire Demon.

Fire Demons are notoriously hard to summon due to their strong will and high intelligence so when one answered my Call I was a little more than pleased to say the least! A Golden Hue emitted from this Alpha Fire Demon, I hadn't just summoned some "low-class" Fire Demon, I had somehow and against all odds summoned Fire Demon Royalty. As he scanned his surroundings, and upon seeing two Yodins, he let out a belly laugh like only a Fire Demon could and said,

"Yodin? No, that can't be Yodin Zaku! The Yodin Zaku I know would never be Halved for the amusement of others and put to battle like a common demon! You must be some imposter, look-a-like!"

Both Yodins, who were already cantankerous at best, and homicidal at worst, sank even further into states of rage and bellowed simultaneously, "Demogorious! Shut your damned mouth before both of us Halve you the hard way and free us all of your poor sense of humour!"

This unusual Fire Demon, Demogorious by name apparently, was little shaken by Yodin's threats and shook his head with a chuckle. As his laughter died down, Demogorious replied, "I am sorry my old friend, I just couldn't help myself. but this is an amusing sight to see. I promise none of the other Fire Demons will ever hear of this incident, our secret."

Both versions of Yodin placed their left palms on their right bicep while making a fist with their right palm, a general demon hand sign to, "Screw off", and began to place boons on both groups of fighters.

With both groups in place and ready to go, The Tournament Master gave the announcement to begin combat!

The fight is still burned in my memory...

As the smoke cleared I could hardly believe my eyes, my Cerberus and Demogorious were still standing and Bamrepa's group had all been defeated!

I thanked The Creator at that moment and looked up to the Sclipper, The Tournament Master, as they looked on from their high perched terrace. The load roar of the audience was still echoing throughout the entire Arena.

On but a motion from the Tournament Master the roar was silenced in a moment. Placing a finger to their masked face in an act of visible thought The Master pondered the fate of Bamrepa and myself. Moments passed that seemed like eternities...

Sclipper finally shouted, "A rematch!", to a thunderous round of applause and cheering.

I could hardly believe it, I had escaped death only to be thrown right back into the fire. I could only hope a best two out of three would be the case, and that my next match wouldn't be my last.

Next time on "The Life of a Battle Mage"
Chapter II: The Rematch! Melee Away!